Genesis 7:2

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

Of every clean animal, take with you seven pairs, each male and its female, and of the animals that are not clean, take two, each male and its female.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

מִכֹּ֣ל ׀ הַבְּהֵמָ֣ה הַטְּהוֹרָ֗ה תִּֽקַּח־לְךָ֛ שִׁבְעָ֥ה שִׁבְעָ֖ה אִ֣ישׁ וְאִשְׁתּ֑וֹ וּמִן־הַבְּהֵמָ֡ה אֲ֠שֶׁר לֹ֣א טְהֹרָ֥ה הִ֛וא שְׁנַ֖יִם אִ֥ישׁ וְאִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃

Transliteration

From-all the-bəhēmâ the-ṭəhôrâ tiqqaḥ-to-you seven seven ʾîš wə-ʾištô and-from-the-bəhēmâ which not ṭəhôrâ it two ʾîš wə-ʾištô

Grammar Details

• *bəhēmâ*: feminine noun - animal/beast/cattle
• *ṭəhôrâ*: adjective, feminine singular - clean/pure
• *tiqqaḥ*: qal imperfect, 2nd masculine singular - you shall take
• *ʾîš wə-ʾištô*: noun pair meaning 'male and female' or literally 'man and his wife'
• seven seven: Hebrew repetition indicating 'seven pairs'

Word Meanings

• *bəhēmâ*: animal/livestock/cattle/beast
• *ṭəhôrâ*: clean/pure/ritually acceptable
• *ʾîš wə-ʾištô*: male and female/man and his woman/a pair

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  Of every clean animal, you shall take with you seven pairs, the male and his female; and of animals that are not clean, two, the male and his female.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, the male and his female; and of the beasts that are not clean two, the male and his female:

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean by two, the male and his female.

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  Of all clene beastes take vnto the.vij. of every kynde the male and hys female And of vnclene beastes a payre the male and hys female:

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Of all cleane beastes take vnto the seuen and seuen, the male and his female. And of vncleane beastes a payre, the male and his female.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  Of euery cleane beast thou shalt take to thee by seuens, the male & his female: but of vncleane beastes by couples, the male & his female.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  Of euery cleane beast thou shalt take with thee seuen and seuen, the male and his female, but of vncleane cattell two, the male and his female.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the male and his female: and of beasts that [are] not clean by two, the male and his female.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  You shall take seven pairs of every clean animal with you, the male and his female. Of the animals that are not clean, take two, the male and his female.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  of all the clean beasts thou dost take to thee seven pairs, a male and its female; and of the beasts which are not clean two, a male and its female;

• American Standard Version (1901)

  Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, the male and his female; and of the beasts that are not clean two, the male and his female:

• American Standard Version (1901)

  Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, the male and his female; and of the beasts that are not clean two, the male and his female:

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  Of every clean beast you will take seven males and seven females, and of the beasts which are not clean, two, the male and his female;

• World English Bible (2000)

  You shall take seven pairs of every clean animal with you, the male and his female. Of the animals that are not clean, take two, the male and his female.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  You must take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, the male and its mate, two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate,

Referenced Verses

• Gen 8:20 : 20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and took some of every clean animal and every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
• Lev 11:1-9 : 1 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, 2 Speak to the Israelites and tell them: These are the living creatures that you may eat among all the animals on the earth: 3 You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof, one completely split, and that chews the cud. 4 But among those that chew the cud or have a divided hoof, you must not eat the camel. Though it chews the cud, it does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean to you. 5 The hyrax, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean to you. 6 The hare, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean to you. 7 And the pig, though it has a divided hoof, completely split, it does not chew the cud; it is unclean to you. 8 You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you. 9 Of all the creatures living in the water, you may eat any that have fins and scales, whether in the seas or the rivers. 10 But all creatures in the seas or streams that do not have fins and scales, all the swarming creatures in the water, and all the living creatures in it, you are to regard as detestable. 11 You must regard them as detestable; you must not eat their meat, and you must detest their carcasses. 12 Anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales is detestable to you. 13 These are the birds you are to regard as detestable and not eat because they are detestable: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, 14 the kite and any kind of falcon or hawk, 15 any kind of raven. 16 Also the ostrich, the night hawk, the seagull, and any kind of hawk. 17 The little owl, the cormorant, and the great owl. 18 The white owl, the pelican, and the vulture. 19 The stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat. 20 All winged insects that walk on all fours are detestable to you. 21 However, you may eat the following kinds of winged insects that walk on all fours: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. 22 Of them you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket, or grasshopper. 23 But all other winged insects that have four legs are detestable to you. 24 By these you will become unclean: whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until the evening. 25 Anyone who picks up their carcasses must wash their clothes and will be unclean until the evening. 26 Every animal that has a divided hoof but does not chew the cud is unclean to you; whoever touches them will become unclean. 27 All animals that walk on their paws among the creatures that walk on all fours are unclean to you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until the evening. 28 Anyone who picks up their carcasses must wash their clothes and will be unclean until the evening. These animals are unclean to you. 29 These are the unclean creatures that swarm on the ground: the mole, the mouse, and any kind of large lizard. 30 The gecko, the monitor lizard, the common lizard, the sand lizard, and the chameleon are unclean to you. 31 These are the unclean creatures that swarm. Whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean until the evening. 32 Any object upon which one of their dead bodies falls will be unclean, whether it is made of wood, cloth, leather, or sackcloth. Whatever is used to do work must be put into water; it will remain unclean until the evening, then it will be clean. 33 If any of them falls into a clay pot, everything in it will be unclean, and you must break the pot. 34 Any food that could be eaten but has water from such a pot on it will be unclean, and any drink that could be drunk from such a pot will be unclean. 35 Anything on which one of their carcasses falls will become unclean; an oven or cooking stove must be broken. They are unclean, and they will remain unclean to you. 36 But a spring or a cistern containing water will remain clean, though anyone who touches one of their carcasses will become unclean. 37 If one of their carcasses falls on any seed that is to be planted, it is clean. 38 But if water has been put on the seed and one of their carcasses falls on it, it is unclean to you. 39 If any animal that you are allowed to eat dies, anyone who touches its carcass will be unclean until the evening. 40 Anyone who eats from its carcass must wash their clothes and will be unclean until the evening. Anyone who carries its carcass must wash their clothes and will be unclean until the evening. 41 Every swarming creature that moves along the ground is detestable; it must not be eaten. 42 You must not eat any creature that moves on its belly, or walks on four legs, or has many feet. All these swarming creatures that move along the ground are detestable. 43 Do not make yourselves detestable by eating any swarming creature that moves along the ground. Do not defile yourselves with them, for you will become unclean through them. 44 For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not defile yourselves with any of the swarming creatures that move along the ground. 45 For I am the LORD, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore, be holy, because I am holy. 46 These are the laws regarding animals, birds, every living creature that moves in the water, and every creature that moves along the ground. 47 You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between living creatures that may be eaten and those that may not be eaten.
• Lev 10:10 : 10 You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean.
• Gen 7:8 : 8 From the clean animals, from the animals that are not clean, from the birds, and from everything that crawls on the ground,
• Gen 6:19-21 : 19 And of every living thing, of all flesh, you shall bring two of every kind into the ark to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. 20 From the birds according to their kinds, and from the animals according to their kinds, and from every creeping thing of the ground according to its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive. 21 Take with you every kind of food that is eaten and store it; it will serve as food for you and for them.
• Deut 14:1-9 : 1 You are children of the LORD your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave a bald spot on your foreheads for the dead. 2 For you are a holy people set apart for the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be His treasured possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth. 3 You shall not eat any detestable thing. 4 These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep, and the goat; 5 the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. 6 You may eat any animal that has divided hooves completely split and chews the cud. 7 But of those that chew the cud or have divided hooves, you shall not eat these: the camel, the hare, and the rock badger, because although they chew the cud, they do not have divided hooves; they are unclean for you. 8 And the pig, though it has divided hooves, does not chew the cud; it is unclean for you. You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses. 9 You may eat anything in the waters that has fins and scales. 10 But anything in the waters that does not have fins and scales, you are not to eat; it is unclean for you. 11 You may eat any clean bird. 12 But of these you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, and the black vulture; 13 the red kite, the black kite, and any kind of falcon; 14 every raven of any kind; 15 the ostrich, the night hawk, the sea gull, and any kind of hawk; 16 the little owl, the great owl, and the white owl; 17 the pelican, the carrion vulture, and the cormorant; 18 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, and the bat. 19 Every swarming winged creature is unclean for you; they shall not be eaten. 20 You may eat any clean flying creature. 21 You shall not eat anything that dies naturally. You may give it to the foreigner living in your towns so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people set apart for the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
• Ezek 44:23 : 23 They are to teach My people the difference between what is holy and what is common and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.
• Acts 10:11-15 : 11 He saw heaven opened, and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals, reptiles, and birds of the air. 13 Then a voice said to him, 'Rise, Peter, kill and eat.' 14 But Peter said, 'By no means, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.' 15 Again, the voice came to him a second time, saying, 'What God has made clean, you must not call common.'